Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Hello everyone! Many of you may be wondering why I am emailing on a Wednesday in stead of a Monday (or maybe you didn't even notice). Well, it is because we had a mission tour on Monday, which was amazing! It also meant I get to have P-Day today, on my birthday, which made me feel extra special. It's like "Happy birthday, here's a P-Day!"

So, what is a mission tour? It is when a general authority (a worldwide leader in the church) comes and gives training and you learn lots so that you can get better. It was amazing! I learned so much that I don't even know where to start, but it was definitely life changing. President said we will probably be quoting our Elder Uceda and Elder Clayton for the rest of our lives, and I definitely agree with that.

Sister Powell is from San Antonio, TX. She is great! we are working really hard and getting a lot done. A lot of the people we have met are really flaky, but we just keep finding more awesome people, and trusting that if we work hard and have faith, we will see results.

Other than that, I just want to remind you all that God loves you. He knows you personally because He is your literal Father in Heaven, and because of that, he loves you with a perfect, amazing love. If you want to know more about that, I highly suggest reading this talk:

Monday, August 15, 2016

Sister Gobrait and I wore matching outfits, and I think all the people we talked to thought it was a uniform or something. I also tried to be an islander.

It was over 90 degrees and a nice man gave us tiny sodas. Sister Gobrait had never seen a tiny soda before. She thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Some kid abandoned their bubbles, and Sister Gobrait and I had a fun time with them while we were knocking.

Sister Ireland and me at the Blatter's house last P-Day.

Baptism! His name is Malachi, and he's a Samoan kid that we have been teaching for a few weeks. His hair is probably longer than mine.

Also, yesterday all 6 of the missionaries that serve in this ward gave 5 minute talks on trusting in the Lord. I talked about how we have to step outside of our comfort zone to really be trusting in the Lord, because if we are comfortable, we are only trusting in ourselves and our own abilities. I realized that that sums up pretty much my whole mission, but to be honest, the times that I am the least comfortable are the times when I am the happiest and the most successful.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Hello everyone! This week has been great. Lots of hard work, and lots of joy!

This week our mission had a goal to invite a very large number of people to be baptized. Sister Gobrait and I decided to take this goal very seriously, and we basically invited everyone we met this week to prepare themselves for baptism. It led to a lot of great conversations, and what is even more amazing is that someone committed! His name is Jay, and he is now scheduled to be baptized at the end of the month.

Other than that, nothing too eventful has happened this week. Just a lot of happy days.

I wanted to share with you all a scripture that has really stood out to me this week. It is Ether 12:4, and it says:

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

I have had so may thoughts about that scripture this week that I don;t really know what to say about it. but I love the idea that hope is the anchor of our souls, and that it keeps us going in a positive direction.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Hello everyone! This has been a great week. It has been really hot and stuffy, but Sister Gobrait and I have been working on not complaining about the heat, and I'm convinced that it has brought miracles. For example:

1) We were knocking some apartments, and the stairways felt like ovens. I thought I was going to slow roast to death. We started to complain a little, but I decided to just have faith in stead of frustration. I told Sister Gobrait that I was sure someone would be interested before our 2 hours of knocking were up. The next door we knocked, we found a man named Walter who invited us back and is interested in coming to church.

2) I was getting really thirsty but I had forgotten to bring my water bottle with me. I told myself I could make it 30 more minutes, but the dramatic part of me was sure I would perish before we were done. Just then, we knocked into a really sweet lady who said her mom joined the church about a year ago and has been telling her to check it out. She said she still hasn't decided if she is interested or not, but she was grateful for everything that missionaries had done for her mom. She invited us in and gave us water with lemon and cucumber, and I was pretty much a happy camper. She asked us some questions about how missions work and about the temple, and then she gave us a whole frozen pizza, a bag or apples, and some granola bars. People are so amazing!

3) We had 15 minutes between an appointment and dinner, and we decided to go check on someone who had been interested a few months ago, but we hadn't been able to get a hold of her. She still wasn't home, but we met her neighbors, who had just moved in a week or two ago. They are a really sweet married (yes, they are already married!) couple with two little girls. They are really interested in learning more about the gospel and in coming to church.

I have also been thinking a lot this week about patience and happiness. I am realizing more and more that patience isn't waithing through sadness until happiness comes again. Patience is choosing to be happy even when your circumstances could be an excuse to be negative. Happiness is available to us at any time if we seek it out.